Industrial Espionage is Bad for Your Health
by aikakone
Summary: Henry and Jo are in LA, and one of Jo's friends gets involved in a suspicious car accident. They follow the clues to Henry Higgs and his trusty colleague Eliza Dooley at Kindercare, who help Jo figure out what happened. Meanwhile, the two Henrys bond over the finer things in life. [Anon. Tumblr ask box prompt]


"There's someone here to see you."

Henry Higgs frowned at his desk and then frowned at his assistant Charlie. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"You've been staring at your paper for the last hour," Charlie said. It was true, but Higgs had been trying to think of his newest advertising campaign. Unfortunately, his mind was as blank as the paper in front of him.

"It's not like I'm interrupting progress," Charlie said and then took a submissive shrug. "Besides, she doesn't look like someone who is used to taking 'no' for an answer."

The assistant scrambled away, and without introduction, a dark haired woman with model-ready cheekbones walked into Henry's office followed by a dapper-looking man wearing a scarf. It was quite the nice look that Henry rather admired, but it was too warm for Los Angeles.

"Mr. Higgs, I'm Detective Jo Martinez of the NYPD," the woman said.

"You're a little far from your jurisdiction," he said as he stood and smoothed his tie and vest.

"Yes, I am. I was visiting a friend, and I need your expertise. I brought with me a colleague from New York who is also out here on business. This is Dr. Henry Morgan," she said with a hand wave to the man beside her.

"Good name," Higgs said as he put his hand out to shake. "Please, have a seat and tell me how I can help you."

Martinez sat, but Morgan slipped off his jacket and scarf before taking a seat. Higgs was distracted by the suit. "That is well made."

"I have a personal tailor in New York. His stitches are the finest in the business," Henry said.

"I must confess," he said as he swiveled on his chair, "that I've always wanted a suit that was made just for me instead of one that was hemmed to my specifications."

"A bespoke suit is a gentleman's luxury," Morgan agreed.

"Mr. Higgs," Jo said as she tried to steer the conversation back to her reason for visiting. "My friend worked for one of Kindercare's competitors. She had a packet that she was going to bring to you. That's how I found your name. She was side-swiped, and now she's in the hospital in critical condition."

"It's usually homicide cases we try to solve," Dr. Morgan said. "This is a nice change of pace."

"I haven't been in any accidents lately," Higgs said, suddenly very self conscious and wondering if Martinez should have read him his Miranda rights. "Are you accusing me of being involved?"

"No, Mr. Higgs, I'm not here to accuse you of anything. I'm here to ask you for your help because I think she was a victim of her own company. The accident was too suspicious," Jo said, leaning forward earnestly.

"I would love to help," he said with a nervous laugh. "Who is your friend?"

"Her name is Cynthia Ellison," Jo said. "She's a sales rep for FuturePharma."

"I don't recognize her name," Henry pondered. "I'm sorry. This makes no sense. FuturePharma doesn't have a children's division, and we are exclusively children's pharmaceuticals."

"They may be trying a new market," Henry Morgan said as he produced some of the paperwork that had been retrieved from Cynthia's vehicle after her accident. He approached the desk to sit in front of Higgs and show him some of the details he had found.

"Oh, my god, Henry! You won't believe the accident on the 401 this morning!" a tall red haired woman with gazelle's legs said as she walked into the office without care of the people who were already conferencing in there.

"Oh, hello," she said, stopping up short and holding her phone to her chest. "Henry?"

"Detective Martinez and Dr. Morgan, this is my colleague who has not yet learned how to knock, Eliza Dooley," Henry said.

"Nice to meet you," she said quickly. "Henry, you won't believe this accident. It's been all over twitter and instagram. It might be an insta-conspiracy!"

Henry Morgan winced at her. This was the kind of modern talk Abe would tease him for not understanding. He tried to take his eyes off her and analyze the papers he had in front of him. He picked up a pen off the desk to use to point to relevant information.

"This is an elegant pen," he said distractedly to Higgs.

"Thank you," Henry answered the other Henry, appreciating his taste in the finer things of life.

"No, listen!" Eliza commanded. "I found some video. She was being tailed, and it looks nasty. You should be paying attention to this, Henry. She's from FuturePharma."

Jo uncurled her posture and addressed Eliza. "You said there was video? Show it to me."

Ever eager to please, Eliza showed the older detective some of the videos and photos of the crime scene that had made it to social media.

"See that?" Eliza asked Jo. "He looks like he's waiting just for her."

"Yes, he does," Jo agreed grimly. "Can you… find out who did that?"

Eliza beamed with pride. "Of course, I can. I'll send the word out to all my followers. We'll have it in no time."

"Excellent, Eliza," Higgs said. "I'm still not completely sure what Cynthia would want with me."

"You have a good reputation, Henry," Eliza said to her friend. "A little stuffy and in need of fun sometimes, but you're a good man."

"There are worse reputations to have," Dr. Morgan said with slow consideration of the two. "Would you read this, Mr. Higgs? It might give another clue for Detective Martinez."

Henry hesitated because he was afraid of insider secrets. Then he decided to go for it because the packet did have his name on it, and the others did need his help. He began to read the contents while Eliza quietly searched the internet for the stranger who caused the accident.

"Oh, this isn't good. Not at all," Higgs said gravely.

"What is it, Henry?" Eliza said from her perch across the room.

"I understand why Miss Ellison was trying to get me the information. It wasn't about the product so much. Well, it is a little. The other company stole our advertising campaign as well as one of our drugs for childhood obesity, and it was going into production before we were."

"No one likes a snitch," Henry Morgan said. "Her company would have a lot to lose if she told the truth. So they tried to scare her into silence."

"Got it!" Eliza cheered from the sofa moments later.

Jo looked at Eliza's phone in interest as she shared the result of the photo search. "This is faster than police facial recognition technology. Thank you, Eliza."

"You're welcome," she beamed.

"Come on, Henry. Let's give the information to the LAPD detective on the case," Martinez told her partner.

"Of course, Jo," he complied. "Henry…"

"Yes, Henry?" Higgs said with a smirk.

"Oh, you're both Henrys?" Eliza asked.

Nodding, Jo told her they had bonded over their shared name and other common interests.

"I just wanted to ask this Henry out to dinner," Morgan said. "I thought it would be polite, and I would enjoy sharing a meal with a man of refinement."

"I could cook and show you my home. You'd love it. It is made out of tempered glass perfectly suited to California. It traps heat and is energy efficient," Higgs bragged humbly.

"How interesting," Henry said.

"It's still a glass house," Eliza muttered.

Jo frowned. "I still have to go talk to the lead detective. Should I let you two play with each other while I take Eliza?"

The redhead perked up. "I would love to go! I can show them all the evidence I found."

"True. If you can get away from work, I could definitely use your help," Jo told her.

"All I have to do is get my purse," Eliza said as she walked Jo to her cubicle.

The two Henrys realized they were alone. Higgs laughed it off by saying Eliza always came back eventually.

"I think that means we are on our own to get some lunch," Dr. Morgan said with a clap of his hands.

"I wouldn't be able to sell you any pharmaceuticals, would I?" Henry asked to be sure.

"Alas, no. All my patients are dead." After Higgs blanched, Dr. Morgan explained that he was a medical examiner.

"I see. That must be interesting work," Henry said.

"You have no idea," Henry Morgan answered with a flick of the scarf as they prepared to go to lunch. "I'll tell you all about it."


End file.
